NEW ORLEANS — The man shot in the stomach by a Louisiana State Trooper while driving the wrong way down Bourbon Street last week had a blood alcohol content level five-times more than the legal limit, LSP officials said.
State police announced Tuesday that Eric Kullander, 42, had a .416g% BAC while he was driving on the crowded street.
LSP officials said Kullander, who already faces four charges, will also be charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
State police identified 42-year-old Kullander of New Orleans as the man who was shot in the stomach after he did not comply with troopers to stop his car as he drove through the 200 block of Bourbon Street around 7 p.m. last Thursday.
Police said Kullander is still in the hospital recovering after he was shot in the stomach, but will be booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center once he is able.
According to Alcohol.org, a BAC level more than .4 percent "may put you in a coma or cause sudden death because your heart or breathing will suddenly stop."
The drunk driving charge also faces one count of resisting an officer with force or violence, as well as aggravated flight from an officer, reckless operation and going the wrong way on a one-way roadway.
Jeffrey Smith, Kullander's attorney, said even given the BAC content, the trooper still did not need to shoot his client. He said it explains Kullander's behavior, but that behavior was not of someone who was trying to hurt anyone.
"Probably had he not been shot it, would have been a DWI that would not have even made the newspapers," Smith said.
Smith said this additional charge will be the first of its kind that Kullander has faced.
In video obtained last week, you can see a vehicle traveling the wrong way down Bourbon Street and two troopers running alongside in an apparent attempt to Kullander to stop and possibly turn around.
Kullander's bond was set at $10,000 on Sunday, according to court records. That bond amount does not include the new drunk driving charge, however.
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Officials say the investigation is ongoing.